The Tennessee Vols will see a familiar face when they take on the East Carolina Pirates this week.

Tennessee and East Carolina will face each other on Friday at noon in Game 1 of the Chapel Hill Regional.

Former Vols LHP Luke Payne plays for East Carolina

Former Vols LHP Luke Payne spent his first two seasons at Tennessee before transferring to East Carolina this past offseason.

Payne, who is from Gallatin, TN, was part of Tennessee’s College World Series championship team in 2024.

On Wednesday, East Carolina head coach Cliff Godwin joined WNML’s SportsTalk to preview the Pirates’ matchup against the Vols, and he was asked about Payne.

“Number one, he’s brought personality,” said Godwin when asked about Payne. “I really enjoy being around Luke. He’s a ball of energy. He always seems to be having a good day. I can work with people like that.

“His change-up has gotten a lot better. He does still have his slider. I’ve been proud of him, though, because early on he wasn’t getting a lot of opportunities, and with some injuries, he kind of was thrown into, ‘Hey, you’re starting on Thursday against Charlotte.’ And he did well. He’s done a really good job. It’s funny, in the conference tournament he didn’t have a long outing. He was like, ‘Hey, coach, I wasn’t planning on that.’ I go, ‘Hey Luke, none of us were, we’re good, man.’ But he wanted to go back out there in the championship game if we needed him. I’m just excited for him to get to the postseason and have an opportunity to compete.”

It’s unclear if Payne will see any action against the Vols, but he pitched 30 innings for ECU this season, so there’s a good chance we see him on the mound at some point during the Chapel Hill Regional.